PBS seen in the erst-while Woodlands Drive-in restaurant in Chennai. The veteran playback singer often visited the restaurant and would have discussions with his friends and fans. File photo: V. Ganesan

A still from the 1962 classic "Nenjil Or Aalayam" directed by C.V. Sridhar. PBS lent his voice for Muthuraman for the evergreen hit "Ninaippadellam Nadanthuvittal" in the film. Photo: The Hindu Photo Library

P.B. Srinivas (82) was not keeping well for the past few days and breathed his last at his CIT Nagar residence in Chennai

He collapsed in the afternoon as he was preparing to have his lunch, family sources said. He was 82.

The lilting bass voice of playback singer Prathivathi Bayangaram Sreenivas, which rendered with equal and mellifluous ease a whole range of human emotions from melancholy to romance and happiness, fell silent on Sunday.

P.B. Sreenivas, or just PBS, who was not keeping well for some time, collapsed in the afternoon as he was preparing to have his lunch, family sources said. He was 82.

He is survived by his wife, four sons and a daughter.

Born in Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, the young Sreenivas got to sing a couple of lines in the Hindi film Mr Sampath, which was based on R.K. Narayan's novel in 1952, thanks to his father's friend Eemani Sankara Shastry, who scored the music for the film.

While still struggling to get a toehold in the film industry, his real break came when music director G. Ramanathan gave him a chance to sing playback for Gemini Ganesan in the Tamil film Veerapandiya Kattabomman.

The song was Inbam Pongum Vennila with P. Susheela. Adutha Veettu Pen proved beyond doubt that Sreenivas was going to secure an established place in Tamil film music.

Three songs in the film — Kannaley Pesi Pesi Kollathey, Vanitha Maniye and Maalayil Malarsolaiyil —became super hits. G. Ramanathan gave him another number in Kappalottiya Tamizhan and the song was Bharathi's 'Kaatru Veliyidai Kannamma'.

"But it took some time for him to replace A.M. Raja as a playback singer for Gemini Ganesan, though he rendered many mellifluous songs," said Vamanan, author and Tamil film music historian.

In a condolence message, Tamil Nadu Governor Rosaiah said Sreenivas had left his rasikas spellbound with his melodious voice, while his devotional songs carried one to the realm of divinity.

Irreparable loss: CM

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said PBS had sung in 12 languages and his voice added further mellifluousness to film songs.

"PBS can also mean Playback Singer. His death is an irreparable personal loss to me and to the film world as a whole," she said.

English Summary: Veteran playback singer P B Srinivas died on Sunday following a brief illness, family sources said. Srinivas (82) was not keeping well for the past few days and breathed his last at his CIT Nagar residence here, they said.

I have always felt PBS is to Tamil film music, what Rafi is to Hindi music

It was a reality show hosted by S.P. Balasubrahmanyam for aspiring playback singers. One of the participants sang 'Nilave ennidam nerungade', and drew a huge round of applause.

But SPB asked him to sing the 'Kodaiyil orunaal…' stanza once again. And yet again. He was looking for a particular nuance in the line 'Yen kolathil inimel ezhil varumo.' The otherwise competent participant could not achieve that effect.

SPB then told the singer, "Listen to how he (PBS) renders the word kolathil… that effortless glide in the voice is trademark PBS."

Somehow, one never thought of P.B. Sreenivas as someone from an older generation of artistes. He was often spotted in public — either having a cup of coffee at Woodlands Drive-In, which shut some years ago, or at a concert or function at Narada Gana Sabha, or judging a show on television.

His trademark headgear, shiny shawl, a bag full of books and a bunch of papers he held to his chest — made him stand out. When asked to speak at public functions, he would break into a song, usually penned by him for the occasion. That, for many of us, was PBS in the past 10-15 years. He did not let out too much about the phenomenal artiste he was.

My generation of Tamil film music fans grew up on a generous dose of Ilaiyaraja. Whether it was a classical music-based song, a catchy folk tune, an intense melody or a peppy number, his compositions had them all.

Despite that, there was something about the previous era of film music that repeatedly drew one to TMS, PBS and A.M. Raja. The three singers, along with P. Susheela and Jikki, defined a very crucial era in Tamil film music that was to survive the test of time, technological advancement and phenomenal talent that followed them.

The robustness in TMS' voice, the melody-rich timbre in PBS', and the rare finesse in A.M. Raja's, took care of the entire spectrum of music appetite of listeners.

As a fan of film music, I have always felt PBS is to Tamil film music, what Rafi is to Hindi music. Having closely followed the music of his counterparts in other parts of the country, PBS brought in a contemporary flavour to his singing, which not only enhanced the appeal of his songs, but also made them highly fashionable and stylish in that era and for that matter, even now.

My playlist of all-time favourites includes many of his songs such as 'Kaalangalil aval vasantham', 'Mouname paarvaiyal', 'Roja malarae', Paadada paattellam' and 'Ponnundru Kanden'. But there is one song that haunted me for days after the first time I heard it — 'Thennankeetru oonjalile' — penned by writer Jayakanthan. It showed PBS in a new light to me.

'Aathoram manaleduthu', the fantastic PBS-Susheela duet, is also a favourite. In the first instance, it may sound like a simple, cute number to teach children. But PBS packs a lot of emotion in each line of the song. He does so with a clear emphasis on melody, making it one of his most poignant numbers.

When he sang, the singing stood out more than the singer. And that was his biggest success as an artiste. PBS leaves behind a treasure trove of melodies — something fans like me will keep going back to all the time.

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